As the semester gets under way, i am very glad to have the book, Happiness as Enterprise: an Essay on Neoliberal Life, listed in the current catalog with SUNY Press

http://www.sunypress.edu/p-5801-happiness-as-enterprise.aspx

completing a project like this is always a great relief, although it opens up space for new endeavors.  I spent much of the summer on an expansive reading project that took me through many topics at the intersection of foucault and psychology/psychoanalysis (some judith butler, joel whitebook, the new edition of history of madness, etc), as well as some adventures into a new area: friendship. in short, it goes something like this:

how do friends, and friendships, serve as relays for the dissemination of  neoliberal governmentalities?  how is the medium of friendship in contemporary life made to operate as a relation through which entrepreneurial subjectivity is cultivated?  this is part of my wider effort to rethink governmentality as a relation of power that operates beyond policy discourses and scientific practices (as it is typically depicted in much research on this topic), and see how it takes shape in everyday life.  i am testing this question to see if it has any potential for future research.

that and teaching, changing diapers and walking dogs.  by far the bulk of my activity, actually.

Tags: http://www.sunypress.edu/p-5801-happiness-as-enterprise.aspx